Memo
Date:
14 April 2023
To:
Allan Moffitt, Interim Clinical Director Commissioning, Te Whatu Ora - Health New
Zealand
From:
s 9(2)(g)(ii)
Subject:
Evaluation Panel Report for Guidelines for Gender-Affirming Care RFP
Act
Purpose
1. The contents of this memo relate in part to a current (‘live’) request for proposal (RFP) process and
therefore this paper must be treated as Commercial in Confidence.
2. This memo is to seek your approval to notify the preferred supplier of the outcome of the evaluation
for the ‘Update to the Guidelines for Gender-Affirming Care’ RFP.
3. Once approved, Te Whatu Ora will enter contract negotiations with that provider.
Background
Information
4. This RFP followed a closed tender process to select the best provider to deliver the update to the
national guidelines for gender-affirming health care (the Guidelines)1. The updated Guidelines will
provide guidance on clinical and cultural best-practice when delivering care to transgender patients
and will be updated to reflect the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
Standards of Care Version 82 which were released in late 2022.
Official
5. The successful provider will have the capability to carry out consultation with the relevant
stakeholders on gender-affirming health care, ensuring that the updated Guidelines meet the needs
of the community and requirements to deliver clinical and medical services safely.
the
6. Individual service negotiation points will be prepared for the required services and negotiated within
the contract.
7. To support your decision-making, the attached evaluation report documents the outcome of the
evaluation process and the immediate next steps in the procurement process.
8. The scoring summary is attached as Appendix A.
under
9. The final weighted scores and rankings are attached as Appendix B.
10. The scorer’s comments are attached as Appendix C.
Released
1 Guidelines for Gender Affirming Healthcare (2018 – New Zealand). Professional Association for Transgender Health
Aotearoa. Retrieved from https://patha.nz/Guidelines (accessed 9 December 2022).
2 WPATH Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People Version 8.
Page 1 of 6
Commercial in Confidence
Recommendations
1.
Note
The RFP closed on
30 March 2023 with 2 responses received
Yes
A multi-disciplinary Evaluation Panel completed their evaluation of the
2.
Note
responses to the RFP on 5 April 2023, in accordance with the
Yes
process set out in the Procurement Plan approved 8 March 2023.
two (2) RFP responses were received, from:
1. Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa
3.
Note
Yes
Incorporated (PATHA)
2. Gender Minorities Aotearoa (GMA)
Act
the top ranked response was from
PATHA
PATHA will be the sole provider as the needs outlined within the RFP
are met by one provider requiring the full funding amount. The services
4.
Note
Yes
proposed demonstrated PATHA can meet requirements to reduce
inequities in health outcomes, with a focus on meeting obligations to Te
Tiriti o Waitangi. Accordingly, their proposal meets the requirement for
the update to the Guidelines
to progress to contract negotiations with PATHA with the anticipation of
Information
5.
Agree
awarding them the contract for Guidelines for Gender-Affirming Care,
Yes
with funding up to $124,000 (excluding GST)
PATHA’s proposed pricing for the work at $124,000 exceeds the
anticipated maximum of $100,000 as set out in the RFP. Although
budget is available for this, we will need to negotiate the pricing to
6. Note
Yes
determine whether the pricing can be reduced or whether public value
Official
for money can be demonstrated for the extra services proposed for the
pricing provided
to communicate the outcome of the process to the unsuccessful
the
6.
Agree
Yes
respondent and offer them the opportunity for a debrief
7. Note
letters will be provided for approval before being sent
Yes
Approval: I, Allan Moffitt, Interim Clinical Director Commissioning, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand
under
agree with the recommendation and next steps.
Allan Moffitt,
Interim Clinical Director Commissioning
Te Whatu Ora -Health New Zealand
Released
Date: 13/04/2023
Page 2 of 6
Commercial in Confidence
Evaluation Report
Guidelines for Gender-Affirming Care RFP
Purpose
1. This report documents the outcome of the evaluation process of the closed RFP for the Guidelines
for Gender-Affirming Care.
2. The RFP was sent to two selected providers and received a response from each.
3. The RFP sought applications from the two providers to deliver, ‘updating national guidelines for
Act
gender-affirming health care and lead referral pathways for gender-affirming health services and
supports’.
4. This is a fixed-fee procurement. The successful provider will be allocated funding of up to $124,000
excl GST from Budget 2022.
Summary of Respondents
5. The two proposals were from:
a. PATHA
b. GMA
Information
6. There were no Te Whatu Ora internal respondents.
Evaluation Panel
7. A panel of 4 were assembled to evaluate the responses. Half of the panel membership had lived
experience of gender-affirming care. The other panel members provided subject matter expertise
and representation from Te Aka Whai Ora. Official
8. The panel consisted of the following:
s 9(2)(g)(ii)
the
9. s 9(2)(g)(ii)
, both Commissioning Managers, facilitated the panel.
under
10. During the panel moderation, meeting notes were taken by s 9(2)(g)(ii)
.
11. s 9(2)(g)(ii)
attended the meetings as an observer and non-voter.
12. The panel individually scored the responses against all criteria and met as a panel to agree on the
consensus/moderated scores for each criterion.
13. The moderation meeting was an open discussion for all to consider the comparative strengths and
weaknesses of each proposal.
14. The final moderated scores were used to confirm the total weighted score and the proposals were
Released
ranked in order before the pricing of each proposal was considered in accordance with the
procurement plan.
15. The panel reviewed which proposal was the best ‘public value’ offer, based on a combination of the
non-price ranking and the corresponding whole-of-life pricing. The evaluation panel’s decision was
based on the offer representing the best solution at the best reasonable price.
Page 3 of 6
Commercial in Confidence
Conflict of Interest
16. Preparation for this sourcing process began with the New Zealand Health Partnerships procurement
at the end of 2022.
17. Members of the evaluation panel and project team were provided with conflicts of interest and
confidentiality declarations prior to the RFP documents being released to them.
18. Members of the evaluation panel and project team were provided with a list of the respondents and
were asked to declare any further conflicts of interest via an updated conflict of interest declaration.
19. No declarations of conflicts of interest were received.
Procurement Process
20. The procurement process was outlined in the RFP document. The evaluation process followed the
Act
steps outlined in these sections.
21. The procurement process was as outlined in procurement and evaluation plan.
Evaluation of Proposals
s 9(2)(g)(i)
23. The Panel considered the pricing after the non-pricing criteria evaluation was completed and
considered the offer representing the best solution at the best reasonable price was PATHA’s.
Recommendation
Information
24. PATHA delivered the most comprehensive response with the highest score of 4.05 out of 5. This
proposal successfully demonstrated PATHA can deliver the objectives of this funding and
accordingly we recommend selecting PATHA as the provider of these services, subject to
successful negotiation of an agreement.
Due Diligence
Official
25. Due diligence will take place during contract negotiations with the preferred provider.
Next Steps
the
26. Advise the preferred provider by phone call, followed up with a letter via email. The award is subject
to contract negotiations and due diligence.
27. Contract negotiations will be entered into at an agreed time and procurement managers, project
manager and senior advisor will attend these meetings.
under
28. The letter to GMA as the unsuccessful provider will be sent at the same time as the preferred
provider. The letter will offer the opportunity for a debrief.
29. The project team will work with the preferred provider to negotiate points relevant to each service
and then draft an agreement (subject to reference checking and due diligence as required).
Released
Page 4 of 6
Commercial in Confidence
Act
Information
Official
the
under
Released
Act
Information
Official
the
under
Released